Syracuse Media Group unveils future headquarters

SYRACUSE  — Syracuse Media Group, the company that produces The Post-Standard newspaper and syracuse.com news website, today unveiled its future headquarters in the Merchants Commons building in downtown Syracuse.

The business plans to relocate 150 employees into the 28,000-square-foot office this April, when renovations are complete, from The Post-Standard building at Clinton Square.

The new office will be situated on the first and second floor of Merchants Commons, at 220 S. Warren St.

Syracuse Media Group was formed on Jan. 1 as part of a restructuring announced last year by its parent company Advance Publications, Inc. to focus on digital publishing. As part of the move, the company slashed its newspaper publishing schedule, cut home delivery to three days a week, and laid off more than 110 Post-Standard staffers.

“We think the future is digital, the future is mobile, and the future is collaborative. And we think this space we are building here will embody all of that,” Tim Kennedy, president of Syracuse Media Group, said at a news conference.

The office’s interior design style will be a combination of university library and coffee house, where people can conveniently conduct research and easily collaborate on the digital platform, according to Kennedy.

“It’s a very open and inviting space, we want to invite the community, our readers and our advertisers to be here,” Kennedy said.

Syracuse Media Group’s new space is part of a broader redevelopment project at Merchants Commons. Developer Joseph Hucko, president of Syracuse–based real-estate brokerage firm Washington St. Partners, Inc., said he also plans to roll out 66 apartment units on the upper floors of the building.

Advance Central Services, a second company that Advance Publications formed to provide support functions like printing and production, distribution, accounting, and human resources, will remain at the Clinton Square building after Syracuse Media Group leaves.

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